AOPA ACTION ACTION IN THE STATES Maryland pilots at disadvantage AOPA backs sales tax exemption bills TWO AOPA-BACKED bills, which would make aircraft maintenance and repairs more competitively priced by exempting parts from sales tax, continue to move forward in the Maryland legislature. The Senate passed its bill and sent it to the House in January; the Maryland House Ways and Means Committee has not yet voted on the measure. AOPA proposed language that was included in the bill for the sales tax exemption on parts to apply to aircraft less than 12,500 pounds maximum gross takeoff weight, and to heavier aircraft used BAKER ON THE NEWS "For AOPA, advocacy is more than just lobbying Congress or negotiating with the FAA. It's about staying engaged with hundreds of state agencies and legislatures. It's about maintaining a network of pilots to monitor thousands of airports. It's about putting the combined weight of hundreds of thousands of pilots behind you." -AOPA President Mark Baker predominately in interstate and foreign commerce. Maryland and Delaware are alone in the eastern region in not providing some level of tax exemption for aircraft parts and components-and Delaware's sales tax is less than 1 percent. "This creates a significant disadvantage for Maryland airports and locally based maintenance facilities, making it difficult for them to keep business from going to repair facilities in neighboring states- namely Pennsylvania and Virginia-that can offer a relative discount to customers," said AOPA Eastern Regional Manager Sean Collins. Creating a level playing field for aircraft repair shops in Maryland would provide job opportunities for students studying in career and technical education programs such as those using AOPA's High School Aviation STEM Curriculum and to collegiate programs across the state. Absent local job growth, those students likely would be forced to seek employment out of state, where demand for maintenance services keeps its competitive edge. aopa.org/pilot/maryland 12 | AOPA PILOT April 2020http://www.aopa.org/pilot/maryland